There has been intense public reaction in Pakistan to the shooting of Malala Yousafzai, a 14-year-old schoolgirl, by Taliban gunmen. She was shot in the neck and head by Taliban fighters on her way home from school in the Swat Valley in the North West of the country. Yousafzai, who was seriously injured in the attack, along with two other girls, is unconscious while she recovers from an operation. This is her story.
With an eye on the dismal statistics on education in
Pakistan, the government on Saturday was urged to impose an ‘education
emergency’.
While addressing participants at Malala Action Day, marking the UN
backed Malala Day on November 10, South Asian Free Media Association
(SAFMA) Secretary General Imtiaz Alam said all the political parties
should consider the appalling state of education in the country.
The event was held at the National Press Club and had been organised
by South Asian Women in Media (SAWM) to promote “Education for all,
peace for all”.
“An All Parties Conference should be called to discuss challenges
that are being faced by our education sector and to find ways to
overcome them so we can achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDG)
in 2015,” said Alam.
Harris Khalique, a well-known poet and columnist, said, “It is time for the Pakistani state and society to introspect.”
He added, “As the world celebrates Malala Day, we must think why such
days including International Mother Tongue Day are celebrated when the
actions of our state and society encourage intolerance and legitimise
oppression by either the establishment or extremist outfits.”
MNA Bushra Gohar said there is a need to separate politics from
religion, while adding that neither should be used for self-interest or
criminal activities.
Higher Education Commission (HEC) Project Director Wasim Hashmi Syed
said there has been an increase in the female enrolment rate but a lot
is needed to be done.
“Currently 90 million people aged 18 to 30 need to be registered for
tertiary education, but we only have capacity for 900,000. We have asked
the government for help several times, but there has been no progress
to date,” he said.
Earlier, children from different Rawalpindi schools gave speeches
paying tribute to Malala. They highlighted the importance of education
and committed to take Malala’s message to every household in the
country. Malaladay.org
Overarching security fears cast a long shadow on Malala Day
celebrations in the hometown of the 15-year-old peace icon on Saturday,
forcing organisers to shut out the public and even bar outdoor events.
This was in stark contrast to the flood of public events — including
an education seminar, a college scholarship fund and a rally by young
flood survivors – held in Malala’s honour across the country.
In Birmingham, the headquarters of the local authority opened its
doors to well-wishers to leave messages for the teenager, who is still
in hospital in the central English city.
Not a single outdoor or public event was arranged in Swat, either by
the district government or by any government educational institution.
At Malala’s own school, students marked a short but emotional event
in the morning assembly by lighting candles and praying for the speedy
recovery of the peace activist.
Some of the girls drew Malala’s portraits, while her closest friends
delivered speeches in her honour. Moniba, a close friend, recounted her
personal experiences with Malala: “I am here to share some of the more
pleasant moments that I spent with Malala. Once, some of our class
fellows were teasing her about why she had not worn more trendy clothes
on a morning television show. She smiled and replied, ‘I like to
concentrate on my words and actions more than on my clothes.’”
A tearful Moniba also requested the student body and faculty to observe a moment of silence in honour of Malala.
“We are proud of our best friend Malala for her tremendous fight for
the rights and education of girls and we are sad that today she is not
here in this school. We request her to come back and be with us as
before,” Rida Salman, a classmate of hers, told The Express Tribune.
The event, however, was not open to the public. “We did not organise
any open event because our school and its students still face a security
threat,” the school principal, Mariam Khalid, told AFP.
Gordon Brown steps in
The UN chief’s special envoy and former prime minister of Britain,
Gordon Brown, spoke via telephone to Shazia Ramzan and Kainat Riaz, the
two girls injured in the Taliban attack on Malala.
Brown inquired after their health and expressed his sympathies. “He
expressed solidarity with me and asked about my future plans,” Kainat
told The Express Tribune.
“He talked to me for 10 minutes discussing my health and studies. He
also asked whether Malala was in touch with me,” Shazia said.
In an interactive session organised by the National Commission for
Human Development (NCHD), an event was held in collaboration with Unicef
and Unesco to present on the ‘One Million Signatures for Right to
Education’ project to Brown, who was the chief guest on the occasion. Malaladay.org
UNITED NATIONS: UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon announced on Thursday that November 10, 2012, will be celebrated as Malala Day world over, Express News reported.
Ki-Moon said that Malala is an inspiration for girls education the
world over. Elaborating on what was the significance of November 10 that
it was being observed as Malala Day, the UN secretary general said that
it marks the 30 day anniversary of Taliban attack on the teenage peace
activist from Swat.
On Friday, November 10, the UN special envoy for global education
will visit Pakistan and present President Asif Ali Zardari with a petition signed by over one million people asking that he make girls education a reality in Pakistan.
Observing Malala day, Ki-Moon hoped, will build on the momentum of
UN’s Education First initiative and show that education is a right of
everyone, and not a privilege for a few. Malaladay.org
In 2009, she began writing a blog for the BBC under a pseudonym, describing her life under the Taliban and expressing her thoughts about the importance of educating young girls. In 2010, the New York Times filmed a documentary about her and she became more vocal about her position.
Please like and share this video there is more about Malala and her cause at http://www.MalalaDay.org
2012 - a ride home from school on Tuesday, October 9.
Gunmen halted the van ferrying Malala Yousufzai through her native Swat Valley, one of the most conservative regions in Pakistan. They demanded that other girls on the vehicle identify her. Malala had faced frequent death threats in the past.
Some of the girls pointed her out. At least one gunman opened fire, wounding three girls. Two sustained non-life-threatening injuries, but bullets struck Malala in the head and neck. The bus driver hit the gas. The assailants got away.Malala was left in critical condition. An uncle described her as having excruciating pain and being unable to stop moving her arms and legs.
